Nate Oats’ extension places him among highest-paid coaches
Alabama men’s basketball coach Nate Oats received a contract extension through the 2028-29 season that will be presented to the university’s board of trustees Friday for approval.
The contract was presented to the trustees’ compensation committee earlier Friday by athletics director Greg Byrne, and was approved by the committee. Oats will be paid $4.5 million in the first year of his updated contract, with $200,000 annual increases that raise his average pay to $5 million.
Byrne said the new deal places Oats fourth in the SEC and within the top 10 coaches in the country.
The buyout for Oats’ deal is $12 million in the first year, $10 million in the second and $7 million in the third, which Byrne said would be among the largest in the country.
Oats previous deal, signed in February 2021, ran through the 2026-27 season and raised his compensation to $3.237 million annually. It included an increased buyout that began at $12.5 million in the first year (2021-22), $9.8 million in the second year (2022-23), $7 million in the third year (2023-24) and $2.4 million in the fourth year (2024-25). There would have been no buyout amount in Oats’ previous deal if he left during the final two years (2025-27).
When Alabama hired Oats in 2019 from Buffalo, he signed a five-year deal that paid him $2.46 million annually and included buyouts of $8 million, $6 million and $4 million over the first three seasons.
Oats’ original contract included a $50,000 bonus for Final Four wins, which increased to $100,000 in his 2021 deal.
Alabama (19-3, 9-0 in SEC) is ranked No. 4 in the Associated Press poll and No. 5 in the coaches poll this week. Last week, the Tide rose to a 20-year high in the AP poll and its highest-ever coaches poll ranking at No. 2 in each. Alabama is a projected No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament and along with Purdue has the second-shortest betting odds to win the national championship, according to BetMGM.
Oats, 48, has an 80-39 overall record since being hired at Alabama. His teams are 42-21 in conference play, and Alabama won the SEC regular-season and tournament title in 2021 before a Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA tournament.
This story will be updated.
Mike Rodak is an Alabama beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @mikerodak.